QILT Surveys

Overview

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) is a group of national surveys of the higher education sector established by the Department of Education and Training. The aim of the QILT surveys is to collect information on the experiences of higher education students, and the teaching performance of institutions, for the Australian Government and the sector. Results from these surveys will also be published on the Government’s QILT website, in order to provide prospective students with relevant information that will help them make decisions about their study options. The information from these surveys will also assist the University to improve the educational experience of our own students, a key goal of our Beacon strategic plan.

The QILT surveys will collect student experience data at various stages throughout the student life cycle, from enrolment through to graduation and subsequent employment.

Student Experience Survey (SES)

Overview

The Student Experience Survey (SES) is an annual survey that collects information about the experience and engagement of current undergraduate students at Australian universities. The survey is distributed during second semester (in August) ear year.

Content

The scope of the SES is domestic and international students who are currently enrolled in the first or last year of their degree at an Australian higher education institution. A random sample of students is selected to receive the survey, on the basis of their institution and the subject of their degree.

The main part of the SES consists of a series of questions about the quality of specific aspects of the student experience. The questions are divided into five main focus areas:

Skills Development

Learner Engagement

Teaching Quality

Student Support

Learning Resources

The SES also asks whether students considered leaving university prior to completing their degree, and about the reasons for doing this.

Additionally, each of the Faculties has addressed student feedback captured in the 2014 survey.

Graduate Outcomes Survey

Overview

The Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) is the principal source of information on the outcomes and experiences of university graduates after they finish their studies.

The GOS is conducted in two rounds each year. Graduates who complete their degree in the first half of the year are surveyed in November (of the same year), while graduates who complete in the second half of the year are surveyed in May (of the following year).

Content

The scope of the GOS includes all graduates (domestic and international) who completed an undergraduate, postgraduate coursework or postgraduate research degree,during the previous year (eg the 2016 GOS surveyed 2015 graduates).

The questions in the GOS can be split into two main sections. The first section covers the employment and further study outcomes of graduates. The second section covers graduate satisfaction with various aspects of their program including:

Graduate Outcomes Survey - Longitudinal

Overview

The Graduate Outcomes Survey Longitudinal (GOS-L) is a follow-up component to the GOS that examines the outcomes of university graduates over a longer term. The GOS-L is administered in February three years after the original survey. The first round of the GOS-L was conducted in 2016, and surveyed graduates from 2012.

Content

The scope of the GOS-L includes graduates who previously responded to the GOS three years earlier, and gave consent at that time to be re-contacted.

The GOS-L asks graduates the same questions as the GOS about their current employment and further study outcomes. It also asks about their employment and study history since they finished their original degree three years prior. The GOS-L does not ask any questions about graduate satisfaction.

Employer Satisfaction Survey

Overview

The final component of QILT is the Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS), which surveys the employers of university graduates, rather than the graduates themselves. The aim of the ESS is to determine the opinions of employers on the quality of the graduates that they employ, and on how well university study prepared them for employment. The ESS is administered twice a year, shortly after each round of the GOS.

Content

The scope of the ESS is the employers or supervisors of university graduates who responded to the GOS and were in employment at that time (but not self-employed). The ESS asks employers how satisfied they were with their graduate, and whether they thought that their graduate’s degree was important for their employment. It also asks them to rate how well their graduate’s degree developed the following work-related skills:

Foundation Skills (communication and numeracy)

Collaborative Skills (teamwork)

Technical Skills (professional knowledge)

Adaptive Skills (innovation)

Employability Skills (workplace performance)

Results

The results of the ESS are released annually. National results are published on the QILT website (but at a summary level only), and in a national report. Program level ESS results are not currently produced, as the University does not receive enough survey responses for results to be reported at that level.

Australian Graduate Survey

The Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) was a national survey that collected information on the experiences and destinations of university graduates. The survey data informed policy formulation, strategic planning and quality improvement initiatives for the University.

National benchmarking institutional level results are available from 2002 onwards. The national indicator scores for each University (including the University of Adelaide), and the change in the scores from the previous year for the last year the AGS was run are available:

The national results of the AGS were published by Graduate Careers Australia and reported in the Good Universities Guide. A summary of research findings can also be found in summary publications, GradFiles & GradStats.